Statement 6

• Nutrition needs of someone with a mental illness

  • Experience of a mental illness may be associated with poor diet
  • Anxiety triggers emotional and psychological changes in the body which affect the stomach and digestive tract resulting in a decrease of appetite, difficulties swallowing or nausea
  • Anxiety may heighten sensations causing issues with food texture
  • There is a clear link between nutritional deficiency in essential vitamins, minerals and omega-3 – 3 fatty acids and mental illness
  • Depression or stress may prevent the preparation of food/prioritizing food or diminish the desire to eat
  • Eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa present specific challenges regarding food- patients may avoid eating and won't have adequate
• How staff in a day centre/assisted living can meet nutrition needs

  1. The kitchen staff in the day centre could provide healthy lunches and refreshments for the clients with mental illnesses that are specific to their dietary needs and offer them choices so that they are encouraged to eat well, promoting the importance of a healthy diet and the connection of food and mood

  2. Staff can offer small snacks (little and often)

  3. Offering tea/ coffee/water or providing a hydration station and encouraging its use

  4. Suggesting an alternative to caffeine in cases of anxiety

  5. Staff could assist in the preparation of food or meal planning

  6. Eating disorders –staff encourage the use of a food diary to track nutrition and encourage better eating patterns

  7. The need for nutrition could also be met by staff providing classes on 'Cooking on a budget', equipping clients with the skills and knowledge to enable them to cook nutritious meals at home
• How a psychiatric hospital can meet nutrition needs

  1. Healthcare professionals work closely with dieticians and occupational therapists to ensure patients receive a balanced diet

  2. Kitchen staff provide options and choices for meal times, meals provided are nutritious and the patient is given a choice

  3. Foods can be pureed if necessary especially if the service user has issues swallowing
• Hygiene needs of someone with a mental illness

  • Depression, anxiety, and PTSD can impact a person's ability to take care of themselves
  • Depression can result in a lack of energy to do simple self-care tasks such as brushing teeth or washing hair
  • Depression can cause sensory issues which makes showering/brushing teeth painful
  • PTSD can cause hygiene rituals which involve repetitive behaviours (e.g. vigorous washing after traumatic experiences)
  • Mental illnesses such as OCD can cause obsessiveness about hygiene or fears/obsessions about germs or burning down the house which impacts a person's ability to perform basic hygiene tasks
  • The motivation to wash, bath or shower may be lacking in an individual who is depressed or in an acute episode of schizophrenia
• How staff in a day centre/assisted living can meet hygiene needs


  1. Staff taking time to understand the specifics of each person's condition so they can assist where necessary

  2. Staff can be understanding regarding washing rituals by offering assistance or time out to complete them

  3. Staff may assist in daily living tasks such as bathing or washing clothes or provide facilities to do so themselves, or help service users purchase hygiene and care products

  4. Encourage self-care and personal hygiene
• How a psychiatric hospital can meet hygiene needs


  Care workers or nurses might provide help or assistance with bathing, grooming or oral care if necessary, or may simply give space and observe from a safe distance
• Medication needs of someone with a mental illness


  • Some of the most commonly used medications include; antidepressants, anti anxiety medication and stimulatants, mood stabilisers and antipsychotics
  • Some these medications take some time to work and people feel they are not working quickly enough/they are not working and may stop taking them
  • Some people do not like the idea of needing medication and stop taking them especially if they feel ok
  • An individual in an acute episode of schizophrenia is likely to neglect self-care so might for example not bother to access medical care when it is needed
• How staff in a day centre/assisted living can meet medication needs

  1. Staff may encourage service users to take medication/follow their doctors' instructions

  2. Staff can supervise the consumption of medications and record for service user

  3. The staff could also monitor the side effects of medication, e.g. and make a referral where appropriate to the clients key worker / GP if they have concerns about side effects of medication, e.g. anti-psychotic medication
• How a psychiatric hospital can meet medication needs

  1. The psychiatrist may administer, review and monitor the prescribed medication used to treat and manage the individuals mental health condition

  2. The staff could also monitor the side effects of medication, e.g. and make a referral where appropriate to the clients key worker / GP if they have concerns about side effects of medication, e.g. anti-psychotic medication
• Specific needs of someone with a mental illness

  • Some mental health difficulties can make people resistant to information about their illness, for example, people with schizophrenia or personality disorders may not accept that there is anything wrong with them
  • Understanding a mental health condition is critical to recovery. Once a person understands the symptoms, treatments triggers and coping mechanism personal to them, they can start to accept their condition and learn to cope with living with it
  • Knowledge of different treatments and sources of help can increase understanding and empower the service user
  • Knowing symptoms of condition
• How staff in a day centre/assisted living can meet knowledge needs

  1. Staff provide classes/ leaflets/ workshops/ presentations to inform service users of their condition

  2. Staff can talk to services users to help the individual identify triggers and personal effects of the condition for them

  3. Staff can inform/educate of further support signposting to websites, contacts, other services
• How psychiatric hospital staff can meet knowledge needs

  Nursing staff could take time with the individual to discuss their mental health issues, e.g. depression, and how they can manage their symptoms and emphasise the importance of taking their medication and using self-help strategies to cope
• Specific needs of someone with a mental illness - mental stimulation

  • People with depression may lack the motivation to engage in activities that stimulate them, e.g. they may not want to bother with work or hobbies
  • Small scale distraction techniques that are manageable and focus the mind on a particular task can be very useful in managing mental illnesses such as anxiety and depression
  • Anxiety can result in an inability to focus the mind and concentrate on one thing for a prolonged period
  • Mental stimulation tasks can disrupt negative thought patterns helping the individual to break negative cycles of thinking
• How staff in a day centre/assisted living can meet mental stimulation needs

  1. Staff can provide puzzles/tasks that are ability appropriate and manageable so that the service user gains a sense of achievement and motivation

  2. Staff can ensure that tasks are time bound/limited - not too strenuous or challenging

  3. Staff can provide and encourage light hearted and undemanding tasks such as undemanding TV programs or playing radio/music/newspapers/CT tasks

  4. Staff can provide classes such as cooking, pottery, gardening, arts and crafts and encourage involvement
• How psychiatric hospital staff can meet mental stimulation needs

  The multidisciplinary team including doctors, nurses, therapists and healthcare professionals collaborate to coordinate appropriate activities to stimulate in patients, this could be group therapy sessions, musical therapy, or art classes
• Specific needs of someone with a mental illness - learning new skills

  • Keeping the mind active can disrupt the negative thinking associated with some mental illnesses and can lead to better intellectual achievement
  • People with mental health difficulties can find it very difficult to concentrate and may also lack the motivation to learn new skills
• How staff in a day centre/assisted living can meet learning new skills needs


  1. Staff can teach or organise classes in areas such as; coping techniques; mindfulness, distraction techniques breathing techniques, visualization techniques, meditation, CBT (challenging negative thinking patterns)

  2. Staff can organize activities such as: gardening, cooking, arts and crafts, dance, singing, ICT, meditation, yoga, etc.

  3. Staff may encourage patients to upskill in areas such as Literacy, ICT, Numeracy- helping them enrol in classes or register for examinations/ certification
• Autonomy


  • People with mental health difficulties often feel that they have no control over what is happening to them
  • Mental health can make people feel vulnerable and reliant
  • Instilling opportunities for independence and decision-making can bring back own sense of control and self worth
• How staff in a day centre/assisted living can meet autonomy needs


  1. Provide opportunities for individual to make decisions e.g. what to eat or what activities to take part in

  2. Respect the wishes of service users in their decisions and positively respond when decisions have been made e.g "Good choice"
• How staff in a psychiatric hospital can meet autonomy needs


  Provide opportunities for individual to make decisions e.g. what to eat or what activities to take part in
• Feeling cared for


  • Mental illness can be isolating for the person
  • The person will often become withdrawn and they don't want to feel like a burden on family and friends
  • Mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety may result in the individual struggling to care for themselves
  • The negative thoughts associated with some mental illnesses result in low self-esteem and self-concept. The individual may believe they don't deserve to be cared for
• How staff in a day centre/assisted living can meet 'feeling cared for' needs

  1. Ensure staff are well-trained, confident and calm

  2. Empower individuals by including them in decisions about their care

  3. Engage one-on-one asking how the service user is/developing good interpersonal relationships

  4. Develop and follow individualized care plans with personal targets and goals which are tailor-made for each client

  5. Provide advocacy support e.g. accompanying someone to the GP or making contact with other health services on their behalf

  6. Spend time getting to know individual's likes/ dislikes and symptoms so that they feel listened to and cared for

  7. Provide peer support opportunities and support groups

  8. Be a listening ear/shoulder to cry on to relieve concerns regarding 'feeling like a burden on family/friends'
• How staff in a psychiatric hospital can meet 'feeling cared for' needs

  1. Develop a supportive relationship where the client is empowered

  2. Provide counselling/therapy services

  3. Support the clients to make their own decisions

  4. Reassure the client that he/she is safe and secure in the setting

  5. Support the client and the family through provision of information regarding client's condition

  6. Provide praise and encouragement of efforts made by clients
• Reassurance/feeling of stability


  • Negative thinking patterns are prevalent in mental illnesses and these can return often. Individuals may need constant reassurance in order to feel safe
  • Routines and clear guidelines for behaviour can help suffers feel more stable
• How staff in a day centre/assisted living can meet 'reassurance/feeling of stability' needs

  1. Provide clear routines, clear rules and boundaries so that individuals clearly understand what is expected

  2. Reassure individuals regularly/when necessary, regarding confidentiality or physical safety of the building

  3. Reassure that undesirable behaviour is connected to condition and not blame the individual for actions linked to their mental illness
• How staff in a psychiatric hospital can meet 'reassurance/feeling of stability' needs

  Offer Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) - a talking therapy that can help you manage problems by changing the way people think and behave
• Specific needs of someone with a mental illness

  • Mental illnesses are often socially isolating illnesses
  • There is still significant stigma and a lack of understanding regarding the symptoms of each condition which can make the individual feel misunderstood or disconnected from others
  • Those with mental illness often value the importance of sharing experiences with others who are similar as it normalizes the feelings associated with mental illness
  • Distraction techniques are often needed to break the cycle of negative thinking associated with mental illness
  • Interaction with others is a good way of distracting the individual
  • Making new friends can widen the support network making the person feel they have a stronger community around them to cope with their condition
• How staff in a day centre/assisted living can meet needs

  1. Staff can take time to get to know the individual, taking time to converse and share stories, discuss their particular condition/challenges/coping strategies etc

  2. Staff can encourage individuals to participate in group activities/sessions and encourage interaction with others by introducing individuals within the group

  3. Staff can organise e.g sporting teams/team activities which encourage interaction problem solving working together etc e.g. team building activity outings and encourage participation

  4. Staff can organize and accompany individuals to social outings in the community e.g. volunteering and community excursions outside the Day centre (e.g. shopping trips etc)
• Psychiatric hospital


  1. Staff can take time to talk to the service users, asking questions to encourage communication and interaction

  2. Staff could encourage service users to interact with each other, helping to build new friendships and widen social circles
• Specific needs of someone with a mental illness

  • Mental health conditions often result in social isolation from friends and family as a result of feeling like a burden
  • Other conditions such as manic depression can have episodes of anger, aggression, and erratic behaviours which can scare family and friends and strain relationships
  • Building family and friends support networks is beneficial to both the recovery and continued support of the service user as well as benefiting the health and wellbeing of family and friends
• How staff in a day centre/assisted living can meet needs

  1. Staff can Encourage social connection with family and friends by asking about service users family and supporting them in dealing with any family conflict

  2. Staff may create a safe space where families can talk openly about their experiences

  3. Staff may run workshops to give family and friends the tools to help them cope and work together to maintain and build a healthy and loving family life

  4. Staff can encourage friends and family to accompany service users to the day centre by creating an open welcoming environment or running family events
• Psychiatric hospital


  Staff can encourage patient's families to visit for social interaction and to strengthen bonds in the family
• Specific needs of someone with a mental illness

  • Mental illness can confuse the service user as they often don't understand their behaviours
  • Challenging behaviours can have a negative social effect on relationships and the ability to interact with others
  • Therefore, those with mental illnesses need to learn to identify socially unacceptable behaviours and how to manage them
• How staff in a day centre/assisted living can meet needs

  1. Staff can ensure they are well trained and knowledgeable in their understanding of the socially unacceptable behaviours that are associated with each condition (e.g. anger, panic, outburst, isolation etc)

  2. Staff can talk calmly to the service user to help them identify behaviours and discuss coping mechanisms that are socially acceptable (e.g. leaving the room)

  3. Staff can display posters that outline socially acceptable responses to symptoms

  4. Staff can model acceptable behaviours
• Psychiatric hospital


  CBT can allow patients to have a better understanding of their behaviours, promoting more socially acceptable behaviour, improving relationships and providing more opportunities for interactions with others